SupportBLM Wiki
Vision of Tomorrow Statement Our Vision of Tomorrow is that Black Lives Matter will be treated fairly and justly as an organization that is fighting against anti-blackness. The Black Lives Matter Movement wants to create a world where every black person can thrive socially, economically, and politically. This organization should not be treated as a terrorist group. Fast Facts The #BlackLivesMatter movement was started in 2013 by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin's murderer (Herstory Black Lives Matter). Black Lives Matter strives to be different by including all people, not just black, heterosexual, cisgender men, like other black liberation movements have done in the past. There are now 40 chapters of Black Lives Matter, and there overarching goal is to "organize and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes" (Herstory Black Lives Matter). As of this year, the FBI has warned against a growing terrorist group known as "Black Identity Extremists" or BIEs. The FBI claims that this classification is justified for several reasons, one of which being that "it is very likely that BIE perceptions of police brutality against African Americans have become organizing drivers for the BIE movement since 2014, resulting in a spike of BIEs intentionally targeting law enforcement with violence" (FBI Intelligence Assessment, pg. 4). The language used in the document and the classification of people as "black identity extremists" is racial profiling. In an interview with The Guardian, ''Mohammad Tajsar, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union stated “When we talk about enemies of the state and terrorists, with that comes an automatic stripping of those people’s rights to speak and protest.” Black organizations are consistently and wrongfully portrayed as terrorist, dangerous, and violent movements. The Black Panther Party was classified as a terrorist organization, which gave the FBI the ability to dismantle the group. Now the same thing is being done to Black Lives Matter. This has never been done to the KKK, a group with a long history of hateful and terrorist crimes. Learn more about the Black Lives Matter movement and why it should NOT be classified as a terrorist organization. "Anti-Black Lives Matter": The Values and Policies of the Opposition Black Lives Matter is an organization that seeks to eliminate the anti-Blackness and discriminatory actions against all Black people, and to sensitize and make people aware of the issues that uniquely impact Black Americans and Black people globally. Unfortunately, there are those that do not believe in the principles of Black Lives Matter and believe that the organization does more harm than good for the American people. In early August of this year, The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted and published an intelligence assessment that labels organizations such as Black Lives Matter as “Black Identity Extremist” groups, and expresses that they are groups that may incite violence and abuse against police in retaliation to law enforcement and critical infrastructure. Some groups, those that hold a more extreme criticism for Black Lives Matter and other Black activist groups, have values that line up with white nationalist ideology, the belief of white genocide and the protest immigration and racial integration, and the opposition of multiculturalism. On a less extreme perspective, people criticize BLM for being “inherently racist” and “anti-American” according to Rudy Giuliani, who believes that the movement “exacerbates racial tensions by putting a target on the backs of officers”. These people also believe that the Black Lives Matter movement incites violence against law enforcement and division between Black people and non-black people (primarily white people). Going even further, some people simply reject the approach of Black Lives Matter in response to issues, saying that they are not organized, or, in the words of former Black Panther Party chairwoman Elaine Brown, maintain a "plantation mentality". Anti-BLM public figures such as Donald Trump and Tomi Lahren have targeted far-right-wing Americans (many of whom live in the middle of the country, away from large black populations) who likely already hold racist ideals. These figures purposefully warp the messages sent by BLM, and target the values important to their audience in order to create further conflict. Examples include but are not limited to: Kneeling for the Anthem NFL player Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem played at the beginning of every NFL game in protect of police brutality that has been rampant in communities of color (specifically black and latino communities). Anti-BLM figures portrayed this peaceful protest as anti-military and anti-american, effectively ignoring the sacrifices made by military personnel. However, military members not fight for a flag. They fight and sacrifice for the freedoms of the people who the flag represents. Thus, their sacrifices are in vain if the people are not permitted to exercise those freedoms. Police Brutality The murders of Michael Brown, Sandra Bland, and other non-violent black civilians by white police officers sparked national debate about the obligations and abuses of power of law enforcement. Riots ensued in a small number of cities. Anti-BLM public figures focused on demonizing the victims in these cases, and advertising the murders as 'self-defense' even in cases where there was no credible threat to the officer's life or safety. They fail to appreciate the intersectionality of blackness and of police brutality. The Name of the Movement "Black Lives Matter" began as a hashtag following the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and quickly became the name of a new wave of Civil Rights Activism as more reports of non-violent black civilians being killed by officers were publicized. Anti-BLM people took the phrase to mean "black lives are most important" and in turn coined the phrase "all lives matter," effectively ignoring the purpose of the movement and drawing attention away from the pattern of law enforcement abusing black people. Talking Points to Support BLM In Conversation Discussion Point #1: The Black Lives Matter movement’s sole purpose is to protect African Americans and fight for their equal and fair rights. African American tend to get the worst treatment compared to other races when it comes down to employment, civil rights, housing, environmental justice, and education. African Americans are often seen to as “less” because of everything that happened many years including such as slavery. While some people may claim African Americans have come a long way and should be grateful for the progress, BLM says that African Americans will not be grateful until we are treated equally. Discussion Point #2: This movement is not a violent movement and will not tolerate any violence on its behalf. Some African Americans have reached a boiling point where they felt as though they needed to commit an act of violence to even the score or to get justice. However, those acts committed by self-proclaimed BLM activists are not true activists of BLM. BLM does not stand for violence and anyone who proclaims their self as a BLM activist must abide by that policy or they are simply not a part of the movement. Discussion Point #3: In the future, BLM plans to have achieved the equal rights of every citizen. African Americans should not get paid less due to their skin color, hair texture, or accent. We believe that BLM with the help of others can achieve such success and bring the world together as one equal nation, the way it was designed to be. What YOU Can Do to Help the Cause! '''A Message to Supporters and Critics' To reiterate, the goal is for black activist groups, such as Black Lives Matter, to be treated fairly as an organization combatting against anti-blackness and for the advancement of black people economically, socially, and politically. ''A Message to Allies, Members and Supporters: '' The Black Lives Matter movement is a movement focuses on the fight for equality and justice for all Black people, globally, nationally, and within all communities. As the issues in the country begin to rise with election of Donald Trump as president, we, as a people, must rise up in unity against systematic injustices that have stifled black Americans for too long. Our Vision for Tomorrow calls for the increased involvement of our members within their local and state communities in regards to voting and legislative input. In order to achieve the justice and equality for Black Americans and people around the world, we have to get involved and put people in power that hold the values of equality and justice at a high regard. We want to be all inclusive to people within the community, which calls for the encouragement and education of people in our communities of the importance of their voice in the voting polls, in their town halls, in their schools and other public areas. We also want to emphasize that although Black Lives Matter is focused on the justice for Black people, we recognize and support LatinX and Indigenous peoples' in their movement to achieve their goals for justice and equality, such as the preservation of sacred native lands and the protection of the rights of undocumented immigrants in this country. Our goal is for our fellow citizen's in other movements recognize that the movement for Black Lives can ultimately result in changes that affect people of other races and ethnicities as well, thus resulting in justice for all. In addition to this, Black Lives Matter is an intersectional movement that addresses the issues of LGBTQA+ people within our community, and our goal to "dismantle cisgender privilege and uplift Black trans folk, especially Black trans women who continue to be disproportionately impacted by trans-antagonistic violence ... foster a queer‐affirming network. When we gather, we do so with the intention of freeing ourselves from the tight grip of heteronormative thinking." https://blacklivesmatter.com/about/what-we-believe/ Get Involved! Looking for ways to get involved in the Black Lives Matter movement? Here are some ideas: * Use the Black Lives Matter website to find a chapter to join near you * Donate to support the Black Lives Matter movement on the Black Lives Matter Website * Call or write a letter to your congressperson telling them that you support BLM, and that you do not believe it is fair or just for BLM to be considered a terrorist organization. Learn More and Social Media The Black Lives Matter movement needs our support. To prevent this organization from being dismantled by the FBI due to the belief that it is a terrorist organization, more people need to understand their purpose and their role. Follow them on social media and visit their website to pledge your support. To learn more about the Vision of Tomorrow for Black Lives Matter here are some resources you can visit: * The Black Lives Matter website: ☀https://blacklivesmatter.com * Twitter: @blklivesmatter * Instagram: @blklivesmatter Latest activity Photos and videos are a great way to add visuals to your wiki. Find videos about your topic by exploring Fandom's Video Library. Category:Browse